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Did anyone grow up here?I did,lol,well,(actually I was born @ Metropolitan Hospital in Phila).,but grew up in the "Fairview" section of the city.I say one thing,it's not what it use to be!
My father grew up in Camden and his sister still lives there. The city has changed so dramatically over the years. My father remembers the city as full of blue collar workers and tight knit neighborhoods. My mom who grew up in bordering Collingswood remembers getting in her Sunday best to go shopping in Camden, where many of the department stores were located. The history of Camden is a very long and interesting one and is a textbook example of what happens when the industrial heart of a city is cut out and cars allow people to sprawl to the suburbs.
My aunt still lives in Camden and while she could leave, she flat out refuses. Her block is still decent. The folks take care of their property and work together, but they are surrounded on all sides by blocks of abandon and run down homes. I venture most people that are 60 years old and have lived in the area for a long time are originally from either Camden or Philadelphia.
Fairview is very interesting and a couple of my cousins lived there and raised their kids. It was easily the nicest section of Camden for the longest time, but now seems to have also fallen into the same trap as the rest of the city. I think the one glimmer of neighborhood hope in Camden is North Camden and the predominantely Puerto Rican neighborhoods. Many of them rank among the nicest and safest areas of the city. It all comes down to individuals and families investing themselves into their neighborhood and working to make it better.
Do you think Camden will turn around later this decade?
One can hope so. Bringing back more blue & white collar jobs and strengthening education and after-school programs in the area can help reduce the overall crime rate in the city over the next decade or two. Idle hands are the devil's workshop, you know!
One can hope so. Bringing back more blue & white collar jobs and strengthening education and after-school programs in the area can help reduce the overall crime rate in the city over the next decade or two. Idle hands are the devil's workshop, you know!
The people who make camden what it is aren't going to change and they have to live somwhere. What is the point of chasing them out so that they will create a new place with camden's problems somewhere else?
The people who make camden what it is aren't going to change and they have to live somwhere. What is the point of chasing them out so that they will create a new place with camden's problems somewhere else?
I never mentioned anything about "chasing them out." Where did you even get that idea from? I'm talking about reducing poverty and its devastating effects!
Being able to make a steady income and putting a great deal of emphasis on education, as well as providing children with opportunities to explore and expand their interests/talents DO have a positive effect on a community... which will lower the crime rate in the area over the next two decades.
There will ALWAYS be crime. It's just a matter of reducing it in both the short term AND the long term.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stressedCollegeGirl89
I never mentioned anything about "chasing them out." Where did you even get that idea from? I'm talking about reducing poverty and its devastating effects!
Being able to make a steady income and putting a great deal of emphasis on education, as well as providing children with opportunities to explore and expand their interests/talents DO have a positive effect on a community... which will lower the crime rate in the area over the next two decades.
There will ALWAYS be crime. It's just a matter of reducing it in both the short term AND the long term.
I couldn't begin to tell you how many times people in the Philly metro have heard that. They've tried all kinds of versions of it, too.
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